Falling in Love Again: Wabi-Sabi Japan Pale Ale

Falling in Love Again: Teikoku IPA

Teikoku IPA was one of the original 4 beers available when Baird Brewing first began. In January of 2001, we began serving 4 beers on hand pump at the Numazu Fishmarket Taproom; Fisherman’s Wheat Ale (to later become Rising Sun Pale Ale), Bay Steam (which would become Red Rose Amber Ale), Kurofune Porter, and Teikoku IPA.

Falling in Love Again: Shimaguni Stout

As most of you no doubt already know, March 17th is the day that Saint Patrick, a man who dedicated himself to expanding Catholicism, passed away. This day is celebrated every year as St. Patrick’s Day and is correlated most famously with Ireland’s famous dry stout: the Guinness. For this reason, we are dedicating this month’s “Falling In Love Again” series to our own contribution to the style: the Shimaguni Stout.

Falling in Love Again: Red Rose Amber Ale

We currently have a bold lineup of 12 year-round beers here at Baird Beer, but when we first started brewing it was only 5. One of the beers from that lineup was the “Bay Steam,” a lager beer. Hearing this name, Baird Beer fans from the early years will surely find themselves saying “Rock on, I remember that one!”

Falling in Love Again: Single Take Session Ale

Starting in 2017, we are running a “Falling in Love Again” series where each month we will feature one beer from our year-round lineup to re-introduce each beer with some new background info that you might not know. Our Taprooms will also feature special promotions connected with the monthly beer. We’ll be starting off 2017 with the Single Take Session Ale!

The Hakuba Taproom

This Taproom is unique in that it is part of the Panorama Hotel, a ski resort located next to Happo-One (oh-nay). The Hakuba Taproom is also the first Taproom not fully owned and operated by Baird Brewing. It will feature a robust lineup of year-round and seasonal Baird Beers as well as a menu based around yakitori, like the Harajuku Taproom.

Baird Lab Report #1: Yeast 101

Hello from the Baird Beer laboratory! Lab technician Taiki here (26, single). I’m the young guy that looks after the yeast here as well as perform a variety of other chores. Chris usually writes this column, but because he is too old to type now (or something like that), I’ll be taking pen in hand this issue.

A Lesson in Texan BBQ

Hi everyone, my name is Takahashi and I’m the manager and pitmaster at the Bashamichi Taproom. I recently had the opportunity to fulfill my dream of going to Lockhart, TX, aka the BBQ capital of the USA. Here I’d like to tell you about a few of the “joints” that I had the pleasure of visiting.

Baird Brewing opened in Numazu in 2000 as a small brewery-pub called the Fishmarket Taproom. We have two passionate interests: beer and pubs. These interests go together hand-in-glove. Over the years we have grown our pub operations in conjunction with our brewery capacity. In 2008 we opened our second Taproom, in the Tokyo neighborhood of Nakameguro. In 2009 we opened in Harajuku. In 2011 we entered Yokohama opening our Bashamichi Taproom. In the process, we have pioneered the concept in Japan of craft brewery owned and operated restaurant-pubs.

The building of our beautiful country-brewery in Shuzenji (which houses our Brewery Gardens Taproom tasting room), opened in 2014, sucked the oxygen out of pub-expansion plans for a while. We are happy to say we are breathing normally again and with a big suck of air we are moving to open our fifth restaurant-pub in Japan. The location is the Takadanobaba neighborhood near Shinjuku in Tokyo. Nagakura-san, our carpenter-partner-friend, began renovation work on March 7. We aim to open on May 1.

The carpenter breaking ground in Takadanobaba.

The Takadanobaba Taproom will be a Japanese-themed craft beer izakaya-pub similar to our Harajuku Taproom. In Harajuku, though, the food menu is centered on kushi-yaki (grilled meat and vegetable skewers); in Takadanobaba it will be built around kushi-age (fried meat and vegetable skewers). The ambience will be our contemporary take on a traditional Japanese kominka (old-style private house). We simply love the combination of modern craft beer paired with traditional Japanese pub cuisine and casual dining culture.

Just as we only brew beer that we want to drink regularly, we only build pubs that we ourselves want to frequent often. We are so excited to welcome you to the Baird Takadanobaba Taproom beginning in May.

Cheers!

Bryan & Sayuri Baird

Yasushi Sato, Towers Craft Beer Bar

“Without a doubt, the Rising Sun Pale Ale. It’s a beer that can be enjoyed as the first or last beer, or any beer in between. It’s an all-around player with great balance. Because of this, it’s a standard beer here at Towers.”

The new year has brought with it some changes to the Baird Beer Voice to make for a more dynamic format. The new BBV mails will be more compact, yet feature more beer than ever and the articles that you know and love will still see a monthly release, only now they will be released in a blog style as opposed to the previous once-a-month newspaper format.

We look forward to bringing you more of the best stories behind our beers. Cheers to a great 2016!

Baird Beer Voice

Baird Beer Voice December 2015

2015.12.24

Dear Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Holiday season greetings. We hope that 2015 has been a happily eventful and rewardingly challenging year for you, as it has been for us at Baird Brewing. We very much look forward to sharing more terrific beer, and many festive social occasions, with you in 2016.

We will kick off the New Year, per our custom, with the release of Hatsujozo 2016 India Pale Lager at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. We follow up quickly with the January 7 release of BB15 – Zamamiro! Ale (an ‘I told you so’ strong Golden Ale that commemorates the 15-year anniversary of the debut of Baird Beer at our Numazu Fishmarket Taproom back in January 2001). With this, the Baird Beer tone for 2016 will be set. It promises to be another great year for the devoted craft beer enthusiast.

On a different note, this will be the final edition of the Baird Beer Voice in its current format. Beginning in January we will transition to a format that is shorter, more frequent and more attuned to social media and mobile devices. As we begin experimentation with a new format we would warmly welcome any and all feedback from you the Baird Beer Enthusiast.

Luxury: A Time and Place

The end of the year is upon us and celebrations are abound. One thing that is commonly associated with celebrating is so-called “luxury” food. Without getting deep into the socio-economics of food cultures and eating habits, luxury foods are basically foods that cost more due to their rarity or high level of labor-intensive harvest. I’m talking about foie gras, oysters, caviar, truffles, and all those other things you’ve seen on fancy menus but won’t dare order too much of.

Brewing with Fruit

It’s no secret that we at Baird make a lot of fruited beers. It started back in 2002 when Nagakura-san, our carpenter, brought a big basket of mikan oranges into the brewery and asked Bryan if he could use them in a beer. That year we brewed a single 30-liter batch of what became known as The Carpenter’s Mikan Ale. We still make this beer annually with fruit from the carpenter’s garden, although these days it’s 6000 liters.

Japanese Hops for Japanese Craft Brewers

We love hops! We procure them from around the world – the US, Europe, New Zealand and even our own tiny hop garden here in Shuzenji – and use them in generous quantities in their minimally processed “whole flower” form. Nearly 100% of our hops are imported in part because, while hops are grown in some abundance in Japan, almost all of the country’s production is locked up under exclusive contracts between hop growers and Japan’s industrial brewers. We were thrilled, therefore, to meet the folks at Hop Japan earlier this year and to brew two beers with Shinshuwase hops supplied by them from the Tohoku region. One beer used “wet” hops harvested just hours before going into our kettle. The other used the same variety in its dried form. Here’s an interview with Hop Japan founder Makoto Homma. Enjoy! And Hoppy Holidays!

Craft beer is the beverage for every season! As we move deeper into autumn and begin to segue into winter, the seasonal cold calls for hearty brews more potent and warming than would be appropriate in the fairer months.

These are celebratory beers meant to be sipped and savored together with people you love and in places that bring you joy.

We fell in love through our shared experience of these celebratory craft beers. Many of our most joyful moments with friends have been lubricated by the shared enthusiasm for world-class craft beer.

If you are reading this, you too likely have been smitten with this craft beer bug. Many adult drinkers, though, still have not. Next time you find yourself out and about with a friend that still is in the dark about craft beer, do them a favor and treat them to a Yabai-Yabai or a Jubilation or a Dark Sky. They will thank you for it. And who knows, the experience just might change their life!

Meat and Greet: Roasted, Grilled, and Fried

Last time on Meat and Greet, we talked about curing meats in salt as a form of preservation. This time, we get into the action-packed world of cooking fresh meats. I say “action-packed” because of the heat and speed that’s (usually) required in this way of preparing meat. The most appealing characteristic of roasted, grilled, or fried meat is the Maillard reaction. This is a chemical reaction involving sugars and amino acids that makes browned or seared foods more, for the lack of a better word; delicious. The golden crust on the edge of a perfectly griddled burger or those black patterns on a grilled steak, those are marks of a delicious piece of meat.

Beer Lovers Come Together for Ailing Friend

Back in 2013, a group of beer lovers found out that a friend, Mark, had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This terrible disease is characterized by a loss of muscle strength, which eventually results in trouble speaking, swallowing and breathing. There is no cure.

A Brewer and a Gentleman

Matt Anderson, The Cricketers

“We are a Craft beer bar and pub food with up to 10 beers on Tap. Open all day from 11:30 to 11pm. We have a Cricket sport themed interior and not really a typical English pub (sorry no fish and chips here everyday).”

As craft brewers, the fall harvest season is a favorite time of ours. It is the season in which the intimate connection between beer and land, so lost upon beer drinkers in industrial times, can be most plainly and poignantly demonstrated. This interconnection with nature is what makes beer a beverage of both tremendous diversity and inherent balance.

We are proud to celebrate the season by hosting at our Shuzenji brewery the 2nd Annual Baird Beer Fall Harvest Festival, to be held Saturday, October 31 – Tuesday, November 3. Each day, from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, we will be hosting on the Brewery Gardens grounds an outdoor festival featuring a farmer’s market with locally harvested produce, an arts & crafts market highlighting local artisans and craftspeople, and a craft beer and food market celebrating the brews and dishes of local brewers and chefs.

Guided brewery tours will be available three times each day (12:30 / 14:30 / 16:30). Our third-floor Brewery Gardens Taproom tasting room and beer deck will be open until 8:00 pm each evening.

We will be pouring a host of special Harvest Ales which include: Shuzenji Wet-Hop Garden Ale, Chris’ Hop Garden Cascade Ale, Beer de la France, Shinshuwase Wet-Hop Ale, Country Girl Kabocha Ale, Fest Lager and West Coast Wheat Wine. All beers will be served in 350 ml BB picnic cups for only 500 yen!

Mark your calendar and plan to make a special fall season pilgrimage to our lovely brewery in Shuzenji. And don’t forget to bring the kids – they will have a ball too! Additional event details will be posted to our Facebook page and through other social media channels in the coming days.

Spice: Does it make it nice?

Don’t panic, every year around this season a fierce war rages in the coffee cups, pint glasses, and pies of the continental United States. The forces of cinnamon and clove are in constant skirmish with the armies of pumpkin and coffee. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Pumpkin Spice Wars are again in full swing and it’s time to choose a side.

Warzymy Portera Baltyckiego!

At Baird, we are constantly coming out with special beers. In September, we had a seven-day period where we brewed seven different fun beers. Some of them were annual recurring brews: Chris’s Hop Garden Cascade Ale (not me, a different Chris), Jubilation Ale and Bakayaro Ale. Some were one-off beers: Kirin #2 Experimental Hop Ale, Shohei’s IPA (in memory of former brewer Taguchi-san), and the next batch of Shizuoka Ale. But the most enjoyable brew by far was a collaboration we did with Browar Pinta, a Polish craft brewery.

Craft Beer Takes Root in Hong Kong

When I last visited Hong Kong eighteen months ago the seeds of a craft beer awakening had been planted. Imports of (mainly US) craft beer were raising awareness. The Globe, which served a wide selection of beers for years before craft beer came on the scene, was joined by Roundhouse as a multi-tap draught beer destination. The annual craft beer fest, Beertopia, was drawing thousands instead of hundreds of guests. Local brewery Young Master had just brewed their first batch.

Leo Sato, Manager – Numazu Fishmarket Taproom

When I was living in Portland, Oregon, there was a theater-pub called McMenamins that was run by a local brewery. After going there a lot I started to yearn for a place like it back in Japan. I found that Baird Beer had similar philosophies to that theater-pub so I decided to try working here.

In craft beer, ingredient-wise, hops get most of the glory. Malt, however, is craft beers’ unsung hero, its quiet flavor backbone. Seasonally, the transition from summer to fall in craft brewing signifies to a fair degree the migration from lighter, zestier hop flavors to heartier, more robust malt flavors. Fall is the season in which malt character shines brightest.

Our go-to base malt has been, from day one, English Maris Otter barley. It is one of the oldest barley varieties still in wide use in the brewing industry. We love its hearty biscuit-bready character and its ease of use in the brewhouse.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Maris Otter as the brewing industry’s premium malted barley. To celebrate, Maris Otter 50 Beer Festival (September 17-19) is being sponsored in Norfolk England (www.MarisOtter50.co.uk). Maris Otter-loving breweries from around the world have been invited to brew a commemorative Maris Otter-based beer for the festival. Our contribution is Maris Otter 50 – ESBaird, a single-malt English-style Extra Special Bitter (ESB).

ESBaird debuts both in the UK and Japan on Thursday, September 17. It is a malty treat not to be missed. And so too is Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale (our annual autumn seasonal set for release on Monday, September 21). This year we are unveiling new artwork for Yabai-Yabai that depicts a traditional maltster laboriously raking his germinating floor-malting barley (all of our Maris Otter is traditionally floor-malted by our friends at Crisp Malting). Take a peek at the new label in the seasonal beer section of our website.

This September we celebrate the glorious character of malt in beer, particularly that derived from our favorite variety – Maris Otter.

Malt Assault!

This month at the Baird Beer Table, we will be taking a break from our Meat and Greet series to talk about malt.

Malt is most commonly associated with beer, but sprouted grains as food have a big role in the human diet as well. Many of the earlier forms of bread contained malted grains, which were less labor intensive than milled grains. Malted rye is the primary ingredient in a traditional Finnish pudding called Mämmi. Americans might be familiar with the original Malt-o-Meal hot cereals, which were made from malted wheat. Let’s not forget about other malted beverages like malted milkshakes or Horlicks and Milo.

Maris Otter: A Love Affair

When we opened our Shuzenji Brewery, Daniel, a German brewer, came to help us learn how to use the new equipment. We first set up the water filter and storage tanks. Then came the yeast tanks and managing our three yeast strains. After that, we had numerous long discussions on the most effective use of our Hopnik. Daniel finally threw his hands in the air. “All you craft brewers want to talk about are hops, yeast, water. You guys always forget about malt!”

Marketing Craft Beer

While riding the Yamanote train line in Tokyo earlier this month I spied an advertisement for craft beer. Wow, I thought, craft beer’s time has really arrived! Then I wondered how a craft brewery, even a very successful one, could afford to produce such a handsome ad and to place it on the world’s busiest train line alongside those of major global corporations. A little subsequent research on the internet revealed the answer. The maker of this “craft beer” is in fact a subsidiary of one of Japan’s four major industrial breweries. Craft brewers often call such beers “crafty” rather than craft, since hiding information about a brewery’ ownership is, well, a bit crafty.

We were smitten by the craft beer bug while living in the United States in the 1990s. Afflicted with beer enthusiasm, we soon found ourselves studying the craft and learning the trade in the Pacific Northwest – ground zero for the craft brewing movement. It was a ridiculously enjoyable time.

Our goal in this appeared to us quickly and clearly – introduce this unique and celebratory beer culture to Japan in way that was authentic and honest. Baird Beer and our Taproom pubs are the concrete manifestation of this goal.

Over the past several years, surprisingly to us, craft beer has become a global phenomenon. Baird Beer has found its way to several foreign shores. As this has happened, another goal has grabbed us – introducing Japanese craft beer to the outside world within the culinary and cultural context of the Japanese izakaya pub (our Harajuku Taproom serving as the conceptual vehicle).

After much consideration, we have decided to partner with our Australian importer to open our first overseas izakaya craft beer pub (Rising Sun Taproom) in the wonderfully vibrant city of Melbourne. The fellow who will be running the show, Brandon Walker, is with us now in Japan familiarizing himself with our domestic Taproom operations and beginning the preparation for the opening of Rising Sun Taproom Melbourne. Brandon is a first-class hospitality professional and an even better guy. Say hi and introduce yourself if you see him at one of our Taprooms.

With any luck, the Rising Sun Taproom Melbourne will be open by early 2016. We will keep you posted.

Cheers!

Bryan & Sayuri Baird

New Releases August / September, 2015

Japan Tale Ale

The Many Layers of a Sandwich

The whole world loves sandwiches. In Istanbul, mackerel sandwiches topped with fresh onions are prepared on elaborately decorated kitchen boats. Chinese shaobing are baked breads with sweet or savory fillings sold on the street as a snack. Pita breads are stuffed with everything from sliced lamb to falafels in the Levant countries. It seems that every country in the world has their own beloved version of the almighty sandwich.

Eric the Guest Brewer

On occasion, we have the chance to welcome a guest brewer to our Shuzenji brewery to brew something special on our 250-liter system. This month, award-winning American homebrewer Eric joined us to brew a batch of his Mugicha Mild.

Celebrating Japanese Craftsmanship

People often ask me why a foreigner, Bryan Baird, decided to start a craft brewing business in Japan. I usually reply that Baird Brewing Company is the product of two loves, a love of beer and a love of Japan. I then elaborate on the Japan part of the love story, saying that Bryan and I, since meeting in the Japan Studies program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in the mid 90s, have revered and respected Japan as country that excels at monozukuri (literally “making things”).

Hiromu Muraishi, Brewer – Shuzenji Brewery

I’ve loved beer from my days as a student and had a desire to one day brew delicious on my own. When I set foot in the Baird Numazu Fishmarket Taproom, I felt this was the only place where I wanted to work.

When we first set foot on the site in Shuzenji that would become our new brewery we were struck by its natural beauty. The two sounds we heard were those of singing birds and the rushing, pristine waters of the Kano River. As Japan’s rainy season ends and the sultry days of summer begin, the land and surrounding mountains are a half dozen shades of green. Rain or shine, we’re reminded every day that it’s a privilege to brew and celebrate beer in this stunningly beautiful setting. We’re also reminded that, as a business, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our planet’s precious resources, including water, air and soil.

It was this combined sense of awe, gratitude and responsibility that led to our decision a year ago to participate in 1% for the Planet, a global business-led initiative to promote environmental preservation and sustainability. Co-founded in 2002 by outdoor apparel maker Patagonia’s founder and chairman, Yvon Chouinard, participating companies donate either 1% annual corporate gross revenue or 1% of annual single product gross revenue to an environmental non-profit organization (NPO) of their choice. 1,200 companies in 48 countries participate, and more than $100 million has been contributed to environmental sustainability since the organization’s start.

Our initially designated 1% For the Planet beer is Shuzenji Heritage Helles, and we’re excited to announce that we will donate annually 1% of sales revenue for this beer beginning from June 2014 to the Nature Conservation Society of Japan. Founded in 1949, its research, advocacy and outreach activities are focused on ecosystem and biodiversity preservation in Japan. We’re proud to support their important work.

Asian Beauty Biwa Ale

Meat and Greet: Cured Meats and Beer

Meat is expensive. I’m not just talking about money per kilo here. It takes many hours of stalking and tracking to find that elusive elk before you get a chance to throw a spear at it. In more modern terms, it takes a whole lot of water, fuel, and feed to raise that pig before it gets butchered, packaged, and delivered to your nearest grocery store. It is no question that such a valuable food cannot be allowed to go to waste.Read on

New Guys, New Guys Everywhere

In the past few months, we’ve had a couple brewers leave the Baird Beer family, one to start his own brewery in Kagawa and one to start his new life with his wife. Shohei and Takumi, thank you for your service to Baird Brewing over the past several years. We wish you all the best in your future adventures. But, the parting of two brewers plus the expansion of our business means that we have to hire new people.Read on

Hostel Heaven

Youth hostels are one of the world’s great innovations. For decades they’ve made it possible for young people, and older folks too, to travel economically, experiencing other countries and cultures along the way. In exchange for providing a bed at a cost that matches a student’s budget, hostels are often spartan and sometimes worse. Guests often want to spend as little time at them as possible.Read on

Kenji Konishi, Gold’n BuB

“Rising Sun Pale Ale is a no brainer and gets my thumbs up! It’s simply my favorite beer, and the beer that is “tasted” a lot more than is strictly necessary at our bar.”Read on

8-9 August
Baird Taproom Harajuku 6th Year Anniversary weekend. Harajuku hums along thanks to you — come out to help celebrate and give thanks for this great pub!Read on

Baird Beer Voice

June 2015

2015.06.19

Dear Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Baird Brewing began its life 15 years ago in the guise of a small brewery-pub in Numazu called the Fishmarket Taproom. ‘Build it and they will come’ we naively thought, blissfully unaware of the many trials and tribulations we would face before achieving a modicum of success. It’s good we didn’t know, though, because had we known we likely would not have pursued the dream – and that would have been a shame.

Our early business struggles at the Fishmarket Taproom had an important silver lining – it reinforced to us the bedrock importance of what we call the 3-Ps: Passion, Philosophy, Perseverance. Passion means deep and genuine love of beer – the beer comes first, other goals are subsidiary. Philosophy is knowing the nature of the beer you want to craft and formulating an appropriate brewing regime to achieve it. Perseverance is the determination and ability to stay the course, to not give up and to remain true to your philosophy. The 3-Ps constitute the pillars of success for all aspiring craft brewers.

The 15-year anniversary celebration of the Fishmarket Taproom will be held July 18-20. We are gearing up for the big 3-day weekend with a series of building touch-ups and a few significant renovations. For those of you who have never made the pilgrimage, and for others who have not been in many years, this will be an ideal opportunity to visit. The beer will be flowing, the barbecue grill crackling, and the camaraderie glowing.

Cheers!

Bryan & Sayuri Baird

BB 15 – Bay Steam

What is “ethnic” cuisine?

What comes to mind when you hear the term “ethnic cuisine”? Bowls of curries spiked with exotic spices? A fiery plate of herby stir-fried noodles? A pair of beef tongue tacos garnished with a lime segment? What you probably don’t imagine is coq au vin or risotto Milanese.Read on

Country Boy Collaboration

Six years ago, right around the time I joined Baird Brewing, we met a couple of guys from Lexington, Kentucky. They just happened to be on a quest to drink beer everywhere they could in Japan, and they were ecstatic to find us. We became friends for life, and after DH and Nathan left Japan, they soon started Country Boy Brewing in Lexington, Kentucky.Read on

China Embraces Craft Beer

There’s no better way to facilitate communication, especially of the inter-cultural sort, than beer! This is especially true of craft beer because, like humanity itself, it’s endlessly varied and interesting. Enjoying a craft beer together makes people slow down, think, listen and appreciate.Read on

Aya Hosoda, Beer Manager – Baird Taproom Bashamichi

“Once you decide to enter the business, I think it’s essential to have the conviction to fully complete tasks. You learn very little when you give up half way.”Read on

Numazu Night Market9 July (Thurs) 17:30 – 21:00 @ Numazu Agetsuchi Shoutengai
20 stores in the Agetsuchi vicinity will be offering take out menus. Enjoy drinks and food on tables set up in the shopping mall or on the Kano River. Have a fabulous evening with Baird Beer, music and a fire performance!

We are freshly returned from an amazing one-week beer journey through various European Union countries where we have begun in earnest to export Baird Beer. Stops included Copenhagen, Tallin (Estonia), Vienna, Paris, Stockholm and Gothenburg.

While the modern craft beer movement began on the western shores of the United States, the roots and inspiration for the movement were the traditional Ale and Lager cultures of Europe. Europeans largely ignored the American craft beer renaissance for the first two-plus decades; but that indifference has finally been transformed into enthusiastic embrace. The artisanal small-scale brewing scene all over Europe is really beginning to flower. The excitement is palpable.

If you like good beer in all its creative variety, today really is a marvelous time to be alive.

Rainy Season Black Ale

New Releases June 2015

Meat and Greet: Introduction

This month I will introduce “Meat and Greet”: a mini-series within the Baird Beer Table about one of the most versatile, controversial, and wonderful foods: meat. Meat has touched almost every aspect of human existence. Our bodies have changed: jawbones shrunk and brains grew as we learned to cook with fire. Humans evolved to use less energy chewing and digesting meat. Increasing animal husbandry laid the foundations for townships and settlements, which then led to local economies and industry. Read on

Portland: A Learning Experience

Last month, Brewmaster Bryan, Sales Director John and I made our way to Portland, Oregon, for the Craft Brewers Conference. More than 11,000 brewers from around the world attended the four-day event, including several hundred from overseas. Receptions, brewery tours, equipment and ingredient vendors, beer stations — it was the place to be. From my perspective, it’s the presentations that hold the real value at the CBC. Read on

Spring in Europe

My how time flies! Like a rite of Spring, the first weekend in May now means that we’re back at the Copenhagen Beer Celebration, Danish craft brewery Mikkeller’s annual celebration of craft beer fans and craft beer brewers. Read on

Tsuyoshi Sugita, Deguchi Ya

“Perhaps it’s because we’re also close to the Baird Nakameguro Taproom that we have many customers who love craft beer. On weekends some customers even come in to fill their backpacks with a week’s worth of craft beer!” Read on